The Locomotive - Lighthouse Survival Blog

1901.] THE LOCOMOTIVE. 41
clogged the pipes. Engineer Jonas Miller asked the dispatcher for an extra engine, to
haul his train to the end of its run."
A marked feature of technical journalism, in recent times, has been the issuing of
"special numbers," devoted to the discussion of particular problems, or to the reports
of expositions or conventions. In our last issue we noticed the " Works Management"
number of the Engineering Magazine, and now we desire to call attention to the very
c editable special issue of the Railway Age, designated as the "Engineering and Main-
tenance of Way Number." This appears under the date of March 15th, and contains,
in addition to the usual selection of general articles, a complete stenographic report of
the recent meeting of the American Railway Engineering and Maintenance of Way
Association.
A Correction.— In our list of boiler explosions for August last, we stated that
"the boiler of a steam automobile belonging to Dr. A. S. Hill exploded, on or about
August 5th, at Peru, near North Adams, Mass." Dr. Hill, who lives at Somerville,
Mass., now writes us as follows: "While touring, last summer, in a steam carriage, I
became stalled, owing to the clogging of a gasoline pipe, and of the water suppiy pipes
and valves. Nothing in the nature of an explosion occurred." In editing The Locomotive
we aim, above all other things, at accuracy; and hence we are pleased to print
the foregoing correction. We desire to say that we obtained our original information
from the North Adams (Mass.) Evening Ilerald, of August 9th, 1000, where the accident
is certainly described as a boiler explosion.
In the issue of The Locomotive for July, 1900, we paid our respects to " Poleforcia,"
the "new power produced by the multiple energising momentum engine." We
have now received another pamphlet concerning this wonderful invention. We admit
that it is wonderful, even though we don't believe that it will work ; but the engine it-
self cannot be half so wonderful as the circulars that its promoters get out to describe
it. For example, we read on the title page of the present installment, that the invention
"involves the discovery of a new method whereby power maybe produced and
utilized, and it destroys the modern accepted theory of Energy, so far as regards its
universal application." On the first inside page we find the following beautiful specimen
: "The heat theory of Carnot is all very well. (Note. Re-published by Pro.
Tait ; but the theory was doubted by both Dr. Rankin and Pro. Claudius ; besides it is
no 'chip in the porridge.' It is a great big blunder, but capable of a pre-arranged
exhibit, but no of universal application.) You can pre-arrange an experiment, which
shows the power converted into heat, and heat converted into power. We use the word
'pre-arrange,' because of the conditions, and arrangement of our Mobile, shows that
heat has nothing to do with the rims of our fly-wheels, that there are no atoms or glob-
ules put into the fly-wheels, and there is no heat, atoms or globules, that come out of
our fly-wheels, therefore the theory is not capable of universal application." And so on.
The degree of familiarity that the author of this circular has with the writings of Rankine
and Clausius may be inferred from the fact that he has spelled both of their names
erroneously. The assertion that the mechanical theory of heat is " a great big blunder,
but capable of a pre-arranged exhibit," is one of ths choicest morsels that we have run
across in many a day.
It is only fair to say, in conclusion, that the circular now at hand contains some